For the first time, the family members of both the victim and one of the defendants talk about the woman they lost and the boy who is lost, as well.

They told their story exclusively to WISN 12 News' Joyce Garbaciak.

With the trial pending, and with their son's lawyer looking on, the family members of Barbara Olson and Antonio Barbeau didn't say much about the specifics of the case, but they did say they are among those struggling to understand.

"We could never have imagined that this could happen," said the victim's daughter, Judy Offutt.

Since September, Offutt has been mourning her mother.

"My mother was my best friend for over 30 years. We were very close," Offutt said.

So when her 78-year-old mother, Barbara Olson, didn't come over as planned Sept. 19, Offutt went to her home in Sheboygan Falls.

"I had peeked into the garage. Her car was gone, so it's like, OK, she's out. She's out,'" Offutt said.

But when Offutt moved a little closer, she noticed a blanket near the garage door.

"It all took quite a while to process, but then I could see her feet, and I thought she fell, so I called out to her several times," Offutt said.

"Mom called me. I could tell she was upset, and she just said, 'Grandma had an accident,'" said Nikki Olson, the defendant's mother.

Prosecutors said it was no accident.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim's great-grandson, Antonio Barbeau, and his friend, Nathan Paape, went to Olson's home with a hammer and a hatchet.

"Nathan stated he hit her twice with the hammer, and then Antonio, using the blade end of the hatchet, struck her in the head, and the hatchet stuck there and that both of them had to pull the hatchet loose," the complaint says.

"What he's talked about, I won't go into. He still might exercise the right to take the witness stand, and I don't want to do anything to prejudice that," Limbeck said.

Limbeck has said that brain development will be an element of the case.

Barbeau's family said he was never the same after suffering a brain injury when he was hit by a car while riding his bike outside Sheboygan's Wilson Elementary School four years ago.

"He was struck at 37 mph," Offutt said.

"There was definitely a change. He has to be monitored and managed," Olson said.

Barbeau is pleading not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Paape is pleading not guilty. Both are now 14, held in juvenile detention, but are being tried as adults. If convicted, they face life in prison with a minimum of 20 years.

"What do you think your mom would want the outcome of this to be?" Garbaciak asked.

"I couldn't say," Offutt said.

Both said they forgive Barbeau.

"Yes, I forgive him. He's my child," Olson said.

"Right away or was it a gradual emotion?" Garbaciak asked.

"I think when you love someone very deeply, that's not going to change. We're trying to understand how it could happen, but I will always love him. I will always love my mother," Offutt said.

Both said they've gotten expressions of support and prayers, and that's really helped them cope.

Both boys will be tried together. The trial is scheduled to begin in mid-June.